About the author (2012)

Christopher C. Wagner, PhD, is Associate Professor and Vice-Chair of the Department of Rehabilitation Counseling in the School of Allied Health Professions at Virginia Commonwealth University, with appointments in the Departments of Psychology and Psychiatry. A clinical psychologist, he has led psychotherapeutic, psychoeducational, and support groups targeting addictive behaviors, sexual behaviors and identity, HIV disease coping, schizophrenia, and organ transplant, as well as general adult mental health and development. Dr. Wagner is a past president of the Society for Interpersonal Theory and Research and is a member and former steering committee member of the Motivational Interviewing Network of Trainers (MINT). His research interests include interpersonal processes in MI and other therapies, and comparing MI with other therapeutic approaches.

Karen S. Ingersoll, PhD, is Associate Professor of Psychiatry and Neurobehavioral Sciences at the University of Virginia School of Medicine. A clinical psychologist, she has conducted psychotherapeutic, psychoeducational, and support groups targeting intimate partner violence, smoking cessation, relapse prevention for addictive behaviors, HIV treatment adherence, and women's health. Dr. Ingersoll is a corecipient of the Charles C. Shepard Science Award from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, for a study that reduced the risk of alcohol-exposed pregnancies using an MI intervention. She is a MINT member whose research tests MI as a foundational approach to improve health for people with health and addiction concerns.